Literary patronage in Renaissance England

The artists’ position in society changed dramatically during the Renaissance. From being a Craftsman like any other, the artist became a creator of the Fine Arts. From functioning in political or religious ways, he began to express more and more his own or his patron’s ideas. “The Renaissance thus became the first great modern age of the individual patron. Merchant prince and despot competed for the services of the greatest architects, sculptors, painters, and scholars.” This aspect, however, is neglected in most studies of English literature. Whereas the Medici are almost synonymous with the Florentine renaissance, it is almost forgotten that a similar debt was owed by the English renaissance to the Sidneys or the Russells and, in a lesser degree, to the non-gentry such as William Fleetwoode or Richard Martin